Wednesday, November 23, 2011

11/23: MLB CBA, College Hoops, etc.

Greetings all... lots to get to...

Major League Baseball has a new 5-year CBA deal... notice the lack of fanfare?... yep... the new features of the deal include HGH testing, new All-star game participation rules, and new helmets... but the biggest thing?... changes in the way international and amateur signings are evaluated... it's very complicated so I won't do that here, but it'll impact large market teams that have been flooding the market with $ to amass talent...

Ryan Braun is your NL MVP... I have no inherent issue with it other than this... what is the criteria? I find that this is an issue that crosses over between sports, but the inconsistency in criteria drives me insane for all MVP awards... the narrative ends up winning the day... oh, and Roy Halladay had a better season than Justin Verlander... think on that...

BYU will not join the Big East... I think I missed the part where BYU was supposed to join the Big East... but ummm.... BYU is in Utah....

College Hoops Round-up.... Duke holds on against Michigan 82-75... the Wolverines put up 53 2nd half points, but never really recovered from a dreadful start... I really, really like Trey Burke though... on the Duke side, it's clear that they'll have balance, but Austin Rivers is the only guy on that roster who really creates his own shot... Memphis outlasts Tennessee in double-OT.... this was a crazy one (and a 9am local tip-off), but the Barton brothers combined for 46 for Memphis, and Jeronne Maymon (who?!) had 35 and 20 for the Vols... yes, 35 and 20... Kansas beats up on UCLA... the Bruins are pretty bad... especially in the backcourt, but Josh Smith's epic 13 minute, 5 foul, 1 point, 1 rebound performance was a catastrophe for them... and finally, Missouri looks very, very good... they beat Cal by a crazy 39-point margin last night behind 6 guys in double-figures... but hey, Georgia fans... you lost to Cal by 24 and they lost by 40 the next night... good luck this season...

What to watch for...

Duke vs. Kansas (Maui Title Game) - ESPN 10:00 - 2 epic programs battling... Duke has never lost in Maui and I expect that to continue unless Thomas Robinson throws up like a 25/15...

Memphis vs. Georgetown - ESPN2 5:00 - 5th place game!... Okay, that doesn't matter, but it's still a game that matters on the schedule and these are 2 watchable teams...

Michigan vs. UCLA - ESPN2 7:30 - I'm now at the point where I'll be angry if Michigan loses to UCLA...